Refrigerator-car.



No. 710,695. Patented'bct. 7, 1902. w. J. HUGHES.

REFRIGERATOR CAR.

(Application filed July 13, 1901.)

' (No Model.)

.lllrtlli WITNESSE HY 7/ I Azfome Umarsn STATES PATENT OFFIoE.

XVILL J. HUGHES, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO SAMUEL MILES HASTINGS, TRUSTEE, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

REFRIGERATOR-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 710,695, dated October 7, 1902.

Application filed July 13, 1901.

To all whom it bur/y concern:

Be it known that I, WILL J. HUGHES, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city of St. Louis and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerator-Cars; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descrip tion of the invention, such as will enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in refrigeratorcars; and the object is to so construct a car of this character that access may be had to the interior thereof without permitting an ingress of hot air and an egress of cold air, so that the cold air in the car is not lost during the removal of the freight and the perishable freight is not damaged by reason of the admission of hot air.

A further object is to provide means for insuring a supply of cold air at the bottom of the car and also to provide the car with an increased refrigerating-surface.

XVith the above objects in view the invention consists in the novel features of constructionhereinafter-fully described, particularly pointed out in the claims, and clearly illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a car constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2, a transverse sectional view of the same, taken through line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig, 3, a horizontal sectional view of one of the ice boxes or bunkers, taken on line 3 3, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a similar view of one of the ice-pans.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, A designates a car having the usual double top wall B, provided with a suitable packing, and having doors O in its side walls for the admission of freight. The interior of the car is divided by partitions D into a central freight-receiving compartment E and small end compartments or vestibules F. The partitionsare provided with suitable doors G, communicating with the central compartment, while the end walls of the car are provided with doors II, leading into the vestibule. Arranged in each vestibule, at the upper end of the same, is an icebunker Serial No. 68,136. (No model.)

I, having apertures J in its bottom wall and apertures Kin its side walls. Leading downwardly in the vestibule, along the side walls thereof, are tubes or conduits L, which at their upper ends communicate with apertures J of the ice-bunker and at their lower ends communicate with each other through the'inedium of a horizontally-arranged tube or conduit M. Leading from conduits or tubes M to the central compartment are pipes N, which communicate with a drip-pan O, arranged in the bottom wall of the car. Said pipes are provided with a valve P, by means of which the flowof water therefrom maybe controlled. The apertures Kare arranged to alternate the apertures J,.so that conduits Q are formed, leading from said apertures K downwardly between the cold-water conduits L. The cold air from the ice-bunkersis thus conducted downwardly to the bottom of the car, where the temperature is always higher than at the top of the car, because there .is nothing betweenthe interior of the car and the exterior thereof at this point excepting the thin bottom wall. The refrigerating-surface is increased by the low temperature of the tubes orconduits L and N, which'conduct the Water from the bunker to the drip-pan. The bunkers are provided with ice-pans R, having apertures S in their bottom walls, through'which the water passes from the ice to apertures J of the bunkers. The icebunkers are arranged in any ordinary manner in the upper end portions of the car. They are provided, however, with ice-pans R, located ashort distance above the floor of the same,and both the floor of the ice-bunkers and said icepans are provided with apertures, which do not, however, register with each other, the openings in the floor ofqthe bunkers being lettered J and the apertures in the icepans S. The openings J in the floor of the ice-bunkers coincide with the top of the tubes or conduits L and convey the water arising from melted ice to a horizontally-arranged tube or conduit M at the bottom of the car. The overflow from said conduit M is conducted to the central compartment by the pipes N, which communicate with the drip-pan O, as previously described. The openings Vin the ice-pan R indicate the means by which the cold air in the ice-pans communicates with the air-conduits opening out of the ice-bunk ers. The partitions D are provided at their upper ends with suitable openings T, through which the cold air from the ice-bunkers passes into the central chamber. The top wall of the car is provided with suitable doors U above the ice-bunkers for the purpose of permitting the latter to be filled with ice.

In the ordinary construction of refrigerator-cars when access is desired, as at waystations, to remove a portion of the freight the side doors are opened and that which is desired removed, a large part of the cold air in the car being lost during the process of removal. The cold air in the car is not only lost, but the perishable freight in the car is likely to suffer damage by reason of the admission of hot air. In the present construction, however, any person desiring to remove a portion of the freight from the interior of the car will first enter the vestibule from without and close the door after him. He will then stand in the vestibule and while thus shut in will open the second door leading to the interior of the car and remove the articles desired, closing the door to the interior of the car before opening the outer door again.

Having thus fully described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a refrigerator-car, vestibules at the ends of the car between the end Walls and the storage-compartment, outlets from said Vestibules through the end walls of the car, inlets to said storage-compartment from said vestibules, said outlets andinlets being controlled by doors, ice-bunkers located above said ves- -tibules, water-conduits leading downwardly from said bunkers, cold-air conduits arranged between said water-conduits, and pipes leading from said water-conduits adjacent to the floor of the car, substantially as described.

2. In a refrigerator-car, an ice bunker or box arranged near the upper wall thereof and provided with water-outlets and air-outlets disposed between the water-outlets, and downwardly-extending water-conduits leading from said water-outlets and forming between them air-conduits leading to the air-outlets, substantially as described.

3. In a refrigerator-car,an ice box or bunker arranged near the upper Wall of the car, airconduits for conducting the cold air from the ice-box to the bottom .of the car, and conduits for conducting the water from the ice-box, alternating the cold-air conduits, substantially as described.

4. In a refrigerator-car, the combination of a storage-compartment, a vestibule at each end of said storage-compartment formed between the end walls of the car and said storagecompartment by partition-walls, and doors in the end walls of the car leading into said vestibules, and doors leading from said vestibules through said partitions into said storage-compartment, ice-bunkers insaid vestibules and alternating air and water conduits leading from said ice-bunkers through said end vestibules, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of July, 1901.

WILL J. HUGHES.

\Vitnesses:

W. A. DELANEY, H. A. YOUNG. 

